Re: Barkley: ""I do think he can be better than Michael," Barkley said."

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ Leon Smith

I'm not trying to run down Pippen, he was one of my favorite players growing up. It's just interesting that this forum is one of the only places that tries to elevate Pippen to an elite first option in the attempt to belittle Jordan's accomplishments. And yes, he wasn't an all-star in the year the Bulls won their first title so technically Jordan won without an all-star teammate that year.

I like that you mentioned context though, do Kobe stans look at the context of Pippen's rookie/early career stats and his lack of leadership on teams he played on without Jordan as a teammate? No, they don't. They're the republicans of NBA fans.

Okay, fair enough. Like you said, technically, Jordan did win without an all-star teammate that year... that's if we don't actually put into context. My bad, it just kinda bugs me, since he was better than some players that did make the all-star team that year, regardless. I agree, people saying Pippen in an elite first option to be belittle Jordan's accomplishments don't have a proper argument to back it up. He will always be a great second option from both ends, not the undeserved propping up he gets.

Yeah, Kobe stans kinda miss out on the context part. I've also stated in the past that they were teammates before rookie Pippen that were playing better around that season and the playoffs (namely Charles Oakley), so it's dumb to say statements like "Jordan never got out of the first round with Pippen", when Oakley and arguably Horace Grant were better than Pippen that year.